Grading machine



Dec, 2` 1924.

E. M. COLE GRADING MACHINE 2 sheets-shewA 1 Filed May 28, 1923 gyn/vento@ @Hoz .wat

E. M.COLE

GRADING MACHINE Filed May 28, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented ec. 2, 1924.

UNITED STATES EUGENE M. COLE, OF CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA.

GRADING Application inea May as,

To all whom t fntafy concerfrt:

Be it known that I, EUGENE M. COLE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Charlotte, county of `Mecklenburg, and State of North Carolina, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Grading Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to grading machines; and the object oi my invention is to provide a grading machine adapted to be operated by one man, whereby the dirt to be removed may be plowed up and automatically loaded into a container, carried to the desired location and dumped, and the grading machine returned for further operation.

ln carrying out my invention, I provide a container mounted upon wheels and equipped with means for drawing or driving` the same. One of the wheels is formed with a broad rim and equipped with a plurality of buckets on or adjacent the inner surface of the rim. A. plow is provided adjacent the wheel for plowing up the dirt that it is desired to remove and throw the same into the wheel where it is lifted by the buckets, as the wheel revolves, to the upper arc of the wheel, 'from whence the dirt is dropped into a chute or hopper. From the chute or hopper the dirt is conveyed into the container. The container is provided with a dump bottom for discharging the dirt when desired.

A further and particular object of my invention is to provide means to insure a proper and complete dumping of the several buckets into the chute or hopper. A further object of my invention is to provide in a device of the class mentioned, a plow having a mold board extending into the wheel and ot' such construction that neither the plow nor the buckets will become injured by the wedging of stones or clods of dirt or other objects between the same. Av urtl'ier object of imy invention is to provide .improved n'ieans for discharging the dirt from the chute or hopper into the container, toproperly distribute the same. Other objects will a ppear hereina fter.

With these objects in view my invention consists generally in a grading machine of thc character above stated in which the buckets are pivotally mounted and normally held in a load holding position, and means for automatically swinging the buckets to dumping position when they reach a position above the chute or hopper. My inven- `ment of the device.

MACHINE.

1923. serial No. 642,004.

tion further consists in a device as mentioned'm which the bucket operating device, comprises a cam and an arm on the bucket adapted to co-operate with the cam for y dumping the bucket. My invention further consists in providing the cam with a serrated portion over which the bucket operating arms pass for giving a arring action to the buckets to insure loosening` and dischargingr all dirt therefrom. My invention further consists in a device as mentioned in which n the cam will remain in fixed position to operate the buckets during a forward movement of the grading machine, and will rotate with the wheel; and thereby become inoperative, upon reverse or backing move- My invention further consists in a grading machine as mentioned in which the plow is provided with a hinged mold board extending into the wheel and spring held in operative position so that should stones, hard clods of dirt, or other objects, tend to become wedged between the wheel or buckets and the mold board, the latter will swing to permit the same to pass without injury to the device. My invention further consists in a device as mentioned in which a chute or hopper is arranged transversely of the dirt boX to receive the dirt from the buckets, and a screw conveyor arranged therein or discharging the dirt into the dirt box. My invention further consists in a device as mentioned in which the said conveyor is geared to one of the wheels of the `device to be rapidly driven thereby Ylor distributing the dirt in the dirt boX. My invention further consists in a device as mentioned in which the bucket containing `wheel is provided with aoweb adjacent the outerl ends of the buckets and in which the hopperk or chute extends to a point adjacent said web, and is provided with a scraper to remove the dirt therefrom. My invention further consists in 'various details of construction and arrangements of parts, all as will be full f described hereinafter and particularly pointed out in the claims.

My invention will be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part oi this specilication and in which- Fig. l is a side elevation of a grading ma chine embodying my invention,

Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of a device on substantially the line of 3a i i llO Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section on substantially the line 3 3 of Fig. 2, the buckets at the back of the wheel being` omitted for clearness of illustration,

Fig. 4: is a detail sectional view on the line 4 4 of Fig. 2, illustrating the hopper and screw conveyor and the mounting of the conveyor shaft,

Fig. 5 is a similar detail section, illustrating the mounting at the opposite end of the conveyor shaft.

Fig. 6 is a detail plan view of the bucket operating cam and associate parts, and

Fi g. 7 is a detail perspective view of a dog associated with the cam.

Referring now to the drawings, l indicates a dirt box or receptacle, which in the ifo-rm of my invention shown in the drawings, comprises the body of the device. This is supported on wheels 2 and 3, mounted on a transverse axle 4. In carrying out my invention, I ycontemplate having the device either horse drawn or forming part of a tractor, but as the essential elements of the invention are the same in either case, I have illustrated the former construction only; and to` this end, the device is shown as provided with a pole 5 to which the draft animal Vmay b-e hitched. rlhe box or receptacle 1 is provided with a dump `bottoni 6 operated by a dumping lever 7. The specific form of the dumping mechanism forms no part of my invention, and there-fore, is illustrated conventionally only.

The wheel 2 is formed with a. broad rim 8 and with a web 9, preferably of sheet metal and positioned a considerable distance from the inner edge of the rim. Around the inner face of the rim, between the web 9 and the inner edge of the rim, are a plurality of buckets 10, arranged at spaced intervals. y

Each bucket is fixed to an oscillatory shaft 11 having a bearing in the web 9 adjacent one side of the bucket and the bearing in a bracket 12 at the inner end of the bucketadjacent the inner edge of the rim 8. The en d of the shaft 11 projects a short distance beyond the web and is provided with a` substantially radial. extending arm 13, having its inner end bent outwardly as at 1/vt. The wheel is also preferalgily pro-- vided with spokes l5 and those adjacent the arms 15 forni stops for said arms when they are in normal position. Springs 1G are provided whic-h normally hold the arms 15 against the stops. It is obvious that the wheel lmay be constructed so that the spokes l5 ymay be dispensed with and other stops provided for the arms.

Loosely mounted on the shaft Lt on the outer side of the hub of the wheel is a cam member comprising a disc17 and a cam portion 18, the latter being offset into the path `of the ends 14 of the bucket operating rms 13. A dog 19 is fixed to the cam disc 17 and normally engages a spring arm 2t), one end of which is fixed as at 21 to the receptacle 1 and the other end 22 being perforated to receive the end of the shaft 4. It is obvious that with this construction, as the grading machine is moved forwardly, the dog 19 will engage the spring arm 2() and prevent rotation of the cam, but that upon a reverse or backward movement of the machin-e, the cam will be free to rotate with the wheel and thus not operate the buckets.

The cam portion 1S is so positioned that it will. be engaged by the ends lelof the bucket operating arms when the buckets are in proper position for dumping. To insure complete emptying of the buckets, particularly when the dirt is wet and sticky, the outer end of the cani is formed with a scrrated face 23, which will give a jarring or vibratory motion to the bucket as the portion 14: of the arm 13 passes over the same. ,ln order to prevent dirt from lodging in the wheel and interfering with the operation of the device, an outer cover plate is provided which extends from the periphery of the wheel to the dise 17 of the cam meniber. The bucket operating mechanism is, therefore, completely enclosed by the web 9, the plate 17, and cover 24.

Arranged adjacent the inner face of the wheel 2 is a plow 25, mounted upon a plow beam 2G, the forward end of which is pivotally connected, preferably by a link 27 to the pole Suitable means such as indicated at 28 is provided for raising and loweringthe plow as desired, to throw the same into or out of operation. The side of the, plow adjacent the wheel is straight, as indicated at 29, so that the, same will not interfere with the wheel or the buckets when in either raised or lowered position. 30 indicates the mold board of the plow which is separated from the plow proper and hingedly niounted upon the body of the machine as at i'l. spring 32 normally holds the mold board in operative position. It will be noted that tbc mold board extends within the wheel above the buckets, so as to cilectually throw the dirt into the wheel. Should large stones or lie/av)v clods of dirt or other articles` thrown into the wheel by the plow. tend to bo wedged between tht` bucket and the mold board. the mold board will saving outwardly against the tension ot' the spring thereby avoitling injury to the device.

ti?) indicates a` trough or hopper arranged in position to receive a deposit troni the buckets as they reach dumping position. This` hopper extends transversely of the inachine from a point adjacent the web to a position within the receptacle 1. The outer wall of the hopper is preferably inclined outwardly as shown in Fig. 4, and forms a scraper for the web 9. Arranged in the bot-- ltitl toni ot the hopper a screw conveyor 35. This is formed on a sleeve 86 rotatably mounted on a stationary shaft 37, the ends of which are mounted in brackets 38 and 89, at opposite sides of the receptacle l. The end of the sleeve 36 opposite that on which the screw conveyor is formed is provided with a pinion et() which meshes with an internal 2gear il on the wheel 3. It is obvious that the screw conveyor will be driven at a comparatively rapid speed, so that the dirt deposit in the `hopper will be quickly thrown into the receptacle ll and properly distributed therein.

It is obvious that the device is adapted to be o ierated by one. man, whether the device may be in the form of a horse drawn machine as illustrated in the drawings, or, if embodied in a tractor. No separate loading,` vehicle is required, but the dirt to be removed is plowed up, thrown into the wheel, elevated above the hopper and deposited in the latter from whence it is distributed into the receptacle which constitutes a part of the machine. lWheni the latter is full the machine is driven to where it is desired to deposit the dirt, the dirt dumped and the machine is returned for further operation. )es soon as the receptacle is full, the plow is raised by any suitable mechanism, such as indicated in the drawings, and it is held in raised position until the machine is ready for further excavating. ln view of the vibration imparted into the buckets, which will also, in a measure, effect the web of the wheel, and in view of the scraping` action of the end of the hopper on the web, it is obvious. that the dirt will not stick to and accunlulate on the shovels and web of 'the wheel no matter how moist and sticky the dirt may be. Ey extending the mold board of the plow into the wheel above the lower most buckets, greater efficiency and more rapid work is assured; and by having the inold board hinged as described and spring held in operative positirm, there is no danger of breaking` the device by stones, hard clods or other matter becoming wedged between the buckets and the mold board. By having, the screw conveyor revolved rapidly, the dirt is not pushed from the hopper into the receptacle, but is thrown thereinto, which [nevents the device from lncmning clogged. with wet and sticky dirt, and more evenly distributes thc dirt in the receptacle.

I claim:

1. ln a gradingA machine, a tractor wheel, a plow adapted to throw the dirt into the said wheel, oscillatory buckets carried by said wheel for elevating the dirt, and means for swinging` said buckets, to dump the same when they reach a predetermined position, substantially as described.

2. A device as set forth in claim 1. in which the bucket operating means comprises an arm fixed to the bucket and a comperating' cam adjacent the wheel, substantially as described.

3. A device as set forth in claim l further characterized by means for vibrating the bucket while in dumping position, substantially as described.

4. In a grading machine, a wheel and a plowfor turning` dirt thereinto in combination with buckets arranged within said wheel for elevating the dirt, means normally holding the buckets in dirt retaining position, a cam, an arm ixedly connected to each bucket and adapted to engage said cam when the buckets reach dumping position and means on said cam for vibrating said buckets when in dumping position, substantially as described.

5. A device as set forth in claim t in which said vibrating means comprises a plurality of serrations on the edge of said cam adapted to beengaged by said arms, substantially as described.

6. In a device of the class described, a container mounted upon wheels, one of said wheels having a broad rim, buckets arranged at intervals within said wheel adjacent the rim, said buckets being pivotally mounted and provided with inwardly extendingarms, a cam adjacent said wheel and adapted to engage said arms when the buckets reach a predetermined position for dumping the same and means for receiving` the dirt `from said buckets and depositing the same in said receptacles, substantially as described.

7. A device as set forth in claim 6 in which said cam is provided with a serrated arm engaging face for vibrating buckets while in dumping position, substantially as described.

8, A device as set forth in claim 6 in which the cam is loosely mounted adjacent said wheeland adapted to rotate with the same when the device is moved backward or in reverse direction, and means to prevent rotation of the cam as the device is moved forwardly, substantially as described.

9. A device as set forth in claim 6 in which the dirt receiving' and distributing means comprises a hopper into which the buckets are adapted to dump, and a screw conveyor for depositing?r the dirt ilroni the hopper into the rer-.ep-taele, siibstantially as described..

l0. In a device ol: the class described, a container mounted upon wheels, one of said wheels having a broad rim, buckets arranged at intervals within said wheel adjacent the rim, said buckets beine` pivotally mounted and provided with inwardly extending,` arms, -v f a cam adjacent said wheel and adapted to engage said arms when the buckets reach a predetermined position yfor dumping the same, a hopper into which the buckets are adapted to dump, and a screw conveyor for lll() lili) combination with :i plow for thronflnplv (lirli into said wheel. ineens for raising; :1nd low l5 ering the plow and :i hinged mold board for said plow mounted upon the receptacle :1nd extending into snid wheel, subst-.mtifillj :is described.

In testimony whereof l have signed my 2o naineto this specification in the presence of two subscribing;r witnesses.

EUG ENE M. COLE. Witnesses H. F. Townv E. A. BROOKS. 

